Mobbles is like Tamagotchi caring + Pokemon collecting

Mobbles is a slick and interactive tamagotchi-style game that features augmented reality aspects to gameplay and beautiful graphics. Clean, feed, tickle, clothe, bounce and entertain your Mobbles to ensure they remain happy. The game is perilously addictive and overwhelmingly cute, so definitely give it a look.

Features:

Do you remember those old Tamagotchis? Normally only costing a few pounds/dollars you had a small LCD creature that you had to regularly feed, play with and clean up. The challenge was to keep your ‘cyber-pet’ alive for as long as possible, and for some time in the 1990’s it was hands-down the biggest toy out there. Well now, in the 21st century, you have the Mobbles!

Mobbles are cute little critters that look like a cross between Flanimals and Pokemon and live on your device. Brightly coloured, incredibly cute and coming in more than 60 varieties, the Mobbles are dynamic little things that are great fun to play with. There are various things you need to do with them to keep their little Happiness meter up. Food is important obviously and you feed them by bringing up the food menu and dragging down a tasty treat for their consumption. Cleaning is also a vital element of gameplay- smelly Mobbles are not happy Mobbles! Wash them by dragging the sponge over them a few times until the smell goes away. Mobbles also like to play and they each have a favourite toy which they’ll want to use regularly. Additionally, you can tickle your Mobbles which they thoroughly enjoy, giving off little giggles. Furthermore you can bounce your Mobbles by throwing them in the air. Finally they need their sleep. You can make them sleep by switching off their light. It’s these daily tasks which make up most of the game, but there’s lots of more to explore too.

From time to time Mobbles drop crystals which are the main currency you need for buying their food and clothes. The in-app shop also lets you buy new rooms (to fit more Mobbles in) and Mobble Eggs- which hatch into new Mobbles. It is essentially a freemium game and there is a secondary currency- MobbDollars- which you can purchase in-app. From my testing, I’m pleased to say that, while you can buy more items with MobbDollars, it doesn’t ever come close to derailing gameplay if you don’t spend real cash to get some.

Catching Mobbles is lots of fun. Your GPS will tell you where they are located and you just have to go an find them. Once close enough, you need to stun the Mobble by tapping on them, then use the catching machine to suck them up. You can collect as many Mobbles as you like- and as long as you have room for them. I did find that, once you’ve collected a few they do seem quite demanding- you regularly get little notifications in your status bar telling you which Mobble wants feeding. You can turn these notifications off of course… but if you want to keep your Mobbles alive (I assume they die, a small part of me wasn’t comfortable with testing this out) you need to keep track of their needs.

One last very cool game feature I want to mention is the way you can trade Mobbles with friends. Simply sign up and then you can swap them and build up a unique collection- much like collecting Pokemon. This clearly adds a social element to gameplay and something you can compete with friends over. There are dozens of different types of Mobbles available and it’s just a case of building your collection up by catching, laying eggs and trading with friends.

If you’re shaking your head and thinking this is all a bit too ‘cute’ you might be right. Gameplay isn’t going to suit everyone, and Mobbles can seem a little sickly-sweet to some. Saying that, I’ve found myself very absorbed in the game and the addiction has spread to other members of my family. Kids will love Mobbles and it’s a great game for them to play and get engrossed in.

Mobbles – Catch that Mobble

Mobbles – Safely deposited

Mobbles – Gummy wants food

Mobbles – Gummy works out

Mobbles – Sploon loves a little guitar

Mobbles – Keep your Mobbles washed

Mobbles – Mobbles on the radar

Mobbles – Friendly tutorials give you all the info you need to care for your Mobble

Mobbles – Ssshhh! They’re all asleep!

Mobbles – Daily check up lists make caring for your Mobbles easy

Mobbles – The Mobble-catching features gets you out and about hunting Mobbles

Mobbles – Settings

Fun Factor:

Mobbles are irrepressibly fun and there’s always plenty to do with them. Add to this the way you can go out and catch ‘wild’ Mobbles plus it’s a multi-faceted game that always entertains.

Addictive:

Oh yes, if you let it. You care for them in real-time, so you just have to fit it in with your life. Being able to trade Mobbles gives the game a social element which is pretty addictive if you’re competing against other collectors.

One thing the developer might want to look at is the process of inviting people through the app. Usually these ‘Invite’ things create some dialogue and a link to download with the message, but this either doesn’t happen or is not working in Mobbles.

Graphics:

Th graphics are cartoony but colourful, rich and detailed throughout, pretty immaculate by all accounts and wonderfully designed.

Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:

The sound and music is impeccable throughout. Each Mobble has different noises from happy sounds to giggles and the sound their favourite toy makes. This all makes for a extremely polished and diverse experience for the gamer.

AndroidTapp.com Rating

(4.6 out of 5)

Should you Download Mobbles? If you like the sound of the game from this review, then absolutely yes. It’s not going to suit all gaming appetites, but Mobbles is without doubt a fun game that’s suitable for gamers of all ages. It melds beautifully animated graphics, rich sound and diverse gameplay into a format that might already be familiar for some people who remember the popularity of Tamagotchi. Mobbles takes the concept and adds lots more detail and functionality. Definitely give it a look.